Meet VikingDan, the eGamer who conquered one of the most difficult sports video games

Football Manager may not be the most complex video game on the planet, but it’s certainly up there. At the very least, it’s one of the hardest.

In simple terms, it’s a game where players take over the role as a team’s head coach, but it’s actually more of a simulated reality; a universe of data governed by a complex, ever-present AI. It’s become hugely popular since first being released in 1992, and its so accurate that many professional teams use it to help scout real-life players.

“It’s a living, breathing thing,” Director of Football Manager, Miles Jacobson, told For The Win in 2015. “The data is implemented, but really it’s an artificially intelligence-driven world … the computer doesn’t care if there’s a human playing it; it will carry on simulating, and humans can immerse themselves in it whenever they’d like.”

There is no way to “win” the game, just as there’s no way a head coach can “win” a career. But if there was, VikingDan came about as close as possible. The eGamer from Manchester tackled the game’s most difficult challenge of all: He spent more than 100 hours in front of a live audience on Twitch transforming Stockport County F.C., a tiny non-league club languishing in England’s sixth division, into Premier League and Champions League Champions.

With Stockport County having conquered the heights, and the save officially retired, we decided to sit down with VikingDan for a few questions about his simulated journey.

(This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity)

Luke Kerr-Dineen: How long have you been playing Football Manager?

VikingDan: I started playing it back when it was Championship Manager, so more than 10 years. I was hooked from the start. It’s unlike any other game out there. I’ve put in thousands of hours playing it over the years, but only recently began streaming it.

LKD: And on that, what gave you the idea to start streaming?

VD: My first stream was back with Football Manager 15 [in 2014]. I just thought it’d be a bit of fun, but wasn’t expecting much. It’s not really like other games that do well on streams. It’s not very visual, but the game is so intense people get hooked. I spent FM15 doing a Swansea City save and started to grow a bit of a following, but I played it so much that I kind of burned myself out. I didn’t stream at all for Football Manager 16, but I still had a following from the Swansea City save and got the itch, so the day Football Manager 17 came out, I started my Stockport County save.

LKD: You’re a Manchester United fan, so why Stockport?

VD: I always wanted to try getting a team up through all the divisions, I just wasn’t sure which one. At first I thought of F.C. United and Salford City F.C [the former is an offshoot club from Manchester United following the club’s controversial takeover bid in 2005, the later is owned by a number of players from Manchester United’s legendary class of 1992], but I saw a few other streams had taken over those teams. I had been to a few Stockport County games and I was looking for a local team, so I went with them.

LKD: Alright, so when you started the game you’re in the Vanarama Conference North. What was step one?

VD: It’s funny because you actually learn quite a lot about how football clubs are run. Stockport was only a semi-professional club when I took them over. We’d be able to bank more profit because all our players were on semi-professional contracts and attendance were quite good. We had accumulated a few million pounds in the bank, which helped us get promoted, but then we turned fully professional and all that money immediately disappeared. There are just so many more costs involved when you’re a professional club, having that money there really helped. It’s a great tip for any other players: try to stay semi-professional for as long as you can.

LKD: So after that first promotion, you were stuck in the Vanarama Conference for a few years. What was that like?

VD: It was quite disheartening to be honest. We were burning through money and I was wondering if was ever going to make it out. I basically spent two years looking around for good, cheap young players that would improve. Players that didn’t make it at other, bigger clubs. It took two years, but we finally got out of the conference, and then got back-to-back promotions after that.

LKD: And it was during that time that you picked up a computer generated player, Dean Hughes…

VD: The Legend of Dean Hughes! He was a cast-off from Arsenal’s youth academy, picked him up for a free in the Conference, went on to become Stockport’s all-time leading scorer. You can’t help but get attached to players in this game. I’d say I have two: Gylfi [Sigurdsson], who was a legend for me during my Swansea City save, and Dean Hughes at Stockport.

LKD: But that’s when you hit a bit of a wall, in the Championship.

VD: It was probably my lowest point in the game. I was up to the Championship by the 2022/23 season and I was stuck. I lost in back-to-back playoffs and I just though, ‘what am I doing, what am I playing a game that’s only adding stress to my life?’ It’s a bit weird to talk about highs and lows in a game that isn’t real, but that was definitely the lowest point.

LKD: If that’s the low, what’s the high?

VD: Has to be winning the Premier League in 202829. I was so happy that I almost forgot that I won Champions League a few weeks laters. It was just the way it happened. We were chasing Manchester United down the whole season, didn’t look like we were going to catch them. Then we beat them in the final weeks of the season and nicked it at the last minute. It feels a bit strange. I mean, it’s only a game, but it was just, brilliant. It just felt like the perfect way to end the save. The next season was a bit of a grind, we finished top four, but I had set out to accomplish what I wanted to do. It was a great moment. I bought a new chair to celebrate, and have been meaning to buy a Stockport shirt with Dean Hughes on the back, too. Maybe wear it to a game.

Meet VikingDan, the eGamer who conquered one of the most difficult sports video games

Stockport County, Champions of Europe.

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